


Intrinsically Linked

by HoopyFrood



Category: Gaya Sa Pelikula (Web Series), Meet Me Outside (TV 2020)
Genre: Absent Characters, Developing Friendships, First Meetings, Gen, Healing, M/M, Male Friendship, Meet-Cute, Moving On, Past Infidelity, Past Relationship(s), Post-Canon, Relationship Discussions
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-02-08
Updated: 2021-02-08
Packaged: 2021-03-13 12:07:09
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,122
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29278194
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/HoopyFrood/pseuds/HoopyFrood
Summary: After meeting Dale, James assumed he’d finally be able to put his ill-fated relationship with Paul behind him. He never expected closure to come in the form of a Film Studies student with a broken heart.
Relationships: James Alexander Chu/Dale (Meet Me Outside), Karl Frederick Almasen/Jose Vladimir Austria
Kudos: 10





	Intrinsically Linked

**Author's Note:**

> Ever since Juan Miguel Severo said Gaya Sa Pelikula and Meet Me Outside were part of the same ‘universe’ and that James’ ex left him for Vlad’s ex, I’ve been _dying_ for some platonic James/Vlad content because I’m convinced they’d make _fantastic_ friends. I just find it so ridiculously interesting how differently their Christmas flings (so to speak) end up being despite the two of them, as the title says, being intrinsically linked.

After two long hours spent meeting with potential new sponsors for his channel and then another three at a photoshoot, James is free from all work related obligations for the rest of the weekend. 

And best of all, the Americano he’d been fantasizing about all day after having to skip his usual morning pick-me-up is finally, _finally_ , in his hands.

He’s exhausted, but it’s a happy exhaustion. Exhaustion from a day well spent and a job completed to the best of his abilities.

It stands to reason that as soon as he steps out of the café, someone smashes into him with all of the force of a freight train.

Everything suddenly slows down and all he can do is watch helplessly as his cup arches gracefully through the air before hitting the sidewalk and exploding all over the pavement.

He stares down at it in total incomprehension for a couple of seconds before releasing a dejected sigh. “Fuck,” he says emphatically, shuffling awkwardly to the side before the rapidly spreading puddle can reach his Gucci loafers.

“Oh, shit, I’m so sorry, man. Are you okay?”

He looks up to see his coffee assailant staring at him with wide eyes, hands hovering uselessly in the air as if he’d made an abortive attempt to either grab James’ coffee out of the mid-air or catch James _himself_ had he been unlucky enough to follow his coffee onto the ground.

“Yeah, no damage done,” he assures him as he bends down to pick up his now empty cup to forlornly deposit it in a nearby trash can.

“It’s you,” the man says once James is facing him again, his eyes somehow even wider than before.

Fuck.

Is his hair okay? There wasn’t any splash back from the coffee, was there? Hopefully his make-up from the photoshoot hasn’t smudged. The last thing he wants is to be recognized while looking like a hot mess. 

He casually runs his hands down the front of his shirt, pulling straight any potential creases.

“Have we met before?” James politely asks, hoping it sounds a little less narcissistic than asking if he’s a fan.

Jerking back to life, the stranger slips his headphones off his ears to let them hang around his neck. “Ah, no, we haven’t, but we have a couple of— _Acquaintances_ in common,” he says carefully.

A couple of acquaintances, James thinks as he squints at him in suspicion.

Now that he thinks about it, he does look vaguely familiar but he’s certainly not a fellow influencer and despite being very clearly attractive, isn’t James’ usual type so it’s unlikely he’s a past hook-up.

A couple of acquaintances. A _couple_ of _acquaintances_.

Then it clicks.

James takes an involuntary step back. “Oh, shit, you’re the ex.”

“I’m the ex,” he repeats awkwardly, sticking out his hand. “Vlad,” he introduces.

James, still in business mode, automatically grips it tightly and gives it a firm shake. “James,” he replies. “Wow, okay, and here I thought my day had peaked at getting my coffee knocked out of my hands,” James tries with a weak laugh.

Vlad winces. “Yeah, sorry about that. Let me buy you a new one?”

James isn’t sure what he expected when he allowed himself to think about the poor bastard Paul’s new boyfriend had left, but wavy hair and boyish charm never seemed to feature. Neither did an army green jacket thrown over a band t-shirt, or a bunch of textbooks under one arm and a battered rucksack hanging over the other.

It all makes for an incredibly disarming image.

“Sure,” James eventually agrees. He’s not about to refuse a free replacement, but he can’t deny that he’s intrigued about this man who, despite being a total stranger, probably knows more about his absolute shitshow of a love life than some of his friends do.

“Wait, really?”

“No take backs. I’m severely under caffeinated.”

“Just didn’t think you’d agree, you know, considering.”

“Why not? It’s not like you’re the one who ruined my life,” James says with a shrug. “But you’re on thin ice when it comes to ruining my day,” he adds with a smile to show he’s joking.

Vlad holds up three fingers. “No more accidents. Scouts honor,” he says, before opening the door to the café and ushering James through.

At the counter, James repeats his order and, after brief a glance at the display case, adds a slice of carrot cake, too.

“Didn’t see you drop a cake,” Vlad points out from his spot next to him, his arms crossed and hip cocked against the glass.

“Didn’t you? Funny that,” James demurs. Vlad rolls his eyes but pays for James’ order without fuss, even going as far as to dropping a fistful of change into the tip jar.

The silence as they wait for James’ order isn’t uncomfortable per se, but the strangeness of the situation hangs heavy in the air like a bad smell. He’d foolishly hoped that anything and anyone even tangentially related to Paul and their ill-fated relationship was behind him, but he’s never been that lucky.

“Surprised you recognized me, to be honest. I don’t think we ever ended up crossing paths, right?” James says.

“No, but you’re pretty easy to internet stalk, Mr. Influencer,” Vlad throws back. James raises his eyebrows and Vlad visibly blanches. “Not that I— Fuck.”

The defeated look on Vlad’s face startles a laugh out of him.

“It’s just, well, you know how it is, your long term boyfriend cheats on you with someone else who _also_ happens to be in a long term relationship, you get drunk, and trawl their Instagram,” Vlad says with a shrug. “He hadn’t deleted any of his photos of you at that point. I didn’t know you were famous until I saw all the comments from your legion of diehard fans under every photo. They use a scary amount of emojis.”

James freezes, mind having gone totally blank the second the word _cheat_ had left Vlad’s lips. “He cheated on you?” He manages.

Vlad frowns and drops his arms. “Err, yes? You weren’t?”

“No, we opened the relationship.”

“We or he?” Vlad asks knowingly and James feels his hackles rise.

“Cut me some slack, I thought I was saving my relationship,” James snaps defensively. The two baristas behind the counter look up in surprise and he shoots them a dazzling smile before shuffling closer to Vlad. “Paul never said anything. Just that he met someone and fell in love,” he continues, voice lowered so they’re not overheard.

“Why would he? Hell, maybe he didn’t even know at the beginning. Aldous only told me recently. Let me believe it was a career thing this entire goddamn time. It honestly wouldn’t surprise me if he didn’t tell your Paul, either.”

“Oh, please. Don’t give him any credit, he doesn’t deserve it.”

They lapse back into silence, the soft chatter from the handful of customers filling the café and gentle clinking of cutlery against china filling the empty air between them.

“I may have watched a couple of your streams,” Vlad admits. “I can see why you have a following.”

James scoffs, the tension bleeding out of his shoulders. “Charmer.”

“No, seriously. It’s not really my thing, the whole influencer phenomenon, but you’re very marketable. Ever thought about going into acting?”

“That sounds like a line,” James points out.

Vlad grins widely. “It’s not, I swear. But come on, you must be aware of how you look. You wouldn’t be doing what you’re doing if you didn’t.”

“Still sounds like you’re flirting to me,” James sing-songs cheekily.

Vlad leans close, then closer still, until his lips are a hairsbreadth from James’ ear. “Believe me; you’d know if I was flirting with you.”

James clears his throat, annoyed by the heat crawling up the back of neck, and pushes him back. “So what, are you a director or something?” He says.

“Hope to be, one day. For now I’m just a film student with a dream.”

“James?” The barista finally calls out and he gratefully collects his order. 

Together, they head back outside, Vlad once again opening door for him and before following through behind.

They end up standing by James’ spilt coffee, the hot afternoon sun having quickly turned the liquid tacky.

“Well, I guess I should—”

“I wouldn’t mind some company if you’ve got nowhere to be,” James interrupts before he can overthink it.

He feels Vlad’s eyes on him, assessing. It’s not the hot, penetrative gazes he receives when he walks into a club and it’s not the professionally interested looks he gets when introducing himself during a meeting. It’s bigger, _heavier_ , a prelude to something beyond sex, or money, or fame.

James holds his breath.

“Sure,” Vlad agrees easily and something in James eases.

They make their way to a nearby park, carefully dodging people walking their dogs, joggers, and screaming children until they find an empty bench.

Once settled, James places the brown paper bag with his cake in between them and finally takes a sip of his coffee. It’s a gorgeous day and had he gone straight home to take a quick nap before facetiming Dale, he wouldn’t have been able to enjoy it.

“This may be a weird thing to ask seeing as we don’t actually know each other, but how have you been?” Vlad asks gently, his attention on a young family a few meters away having a picnic on a red tartan blanket. His eyes are soft with an old, sepia toned yearning.

“Surprisingly okay, considering,” James admits, wiping his mouth with the back of his hand. “It’s one thing to have your boyfriend leave you for someone else, but having the whole world watch it play out in real time isn’t ideal.”

“Damn, I bet.”

“Don’t get me wrong, my followers have been nothing but supportive and I know that my entire life being out there for everyone to see is part of the job, but sometimes you just want to keep some things to yourself, you know? Let yourself bleed away from prying eyes until you’re able to stem the flow.”

“I can’t imagine it, to be honest. It was bad enough having friends and family butting in to offer their unsolicited advice. Like, leave me to wallow in my own self-pity for a while, you know?”

“Exactly!” James says, pointing at him. “I mean, is it healthy? No, but all the most satisfying things aren’t.”

“Co-fucking-signed, my friend,” Vlad agrees.

“I actually met someone at the resort we were meant to go to for Christmas, though, so you know, swings and roundabouts,” James adds with a shrug, his heartbeat speeding up in that familiar way it always tends to do whenever he thinks about that week. “What about you?”

“Just keeping busy with college, mainly,” Vlad replies. “I also met someone but, err, it wasn’t the right time. For him, mostly,” he laughs bitterly and James can _feel_ the pain in his voice, still new and raw. “I was all in. Still am.”

“Sorry.”

“God, no, don’t be. I’m okay, really,” Vlad assures him then slumps with a sigh. “I mean, I’m not, but, hey that’s life, right? He’s very new to this,” Vlad continues, waving his hand between the two of them. “Let’s just say his parents had some very unrealistic expectations for him growing up and because of that he wasn’t allowed to be himself.”

James makes a sympathetic noise as he takes another mouthful of his coffee. “Seen it a thousand times.”

“He’s taking baby steps,” Vlad shares, turning towards him so their knees bump. “He actually has an out gay uncle who adores him so I have faith.”

James dutifully nods despite knowing it takes more than that. You can have the best support system in the world around you but it’s still ultimately how _you_ feel. And if you’re not ready, well, you’re not ready. Internalized homophobia is one hell of a drug, after all. It doesn’t go away overnight. James is positive Vlad is well aware of that but it’s difficult to not get your hopes up. He’s been there himself way too many times to count.

“In my experience falling in love with someone still in the closet is often worse than falling in love with a straight boy. It’s the hope that gets you, the _potential_ of something incredible being ripped away from you at the last second.”

“He doesn’t expect me to wait for him,” Vlad shares. “He’d never ask that of me. But I can’t say I’m all that motivated to ‘get back out there’ at the moment, either.”

“You’re in love,” James says simply. “You can’t turn off your feelings. You learn to live with them. It’s like grief, in that respect. You’re mourning the loss of something, or at least the loss of something that could have been.”

Vlad clears his throat. “Sounds like you’re talking from experience,” he jokes with faux cheer.

“Why Vlad, however did you guess?” He deadpans and after a few seconds they both break down into a childish fit of giggles.

“I don’t want to be presumptuous but... Do you want to keep in touch?” James asks once they’ve calmed down. “We can commiserate together, bad mouth our respective shitty exes. Maybe you could even give me editing tips,” he tacks on the end innocently.

“Oh, I see how it is!” Vlad says, shoving lightly at his shoulder. “Yeah, I’d like that.”

Paul took so much away from him. His confidence, mutual friends who suddenly felt like they needed to pick a side, the future he thought they’d have together. And James thinks Vlad may feel the same about Aldous. The Christmas getaway was the first step of doing something for himself, Dale was the second. Vlad could be the third.

“I kind of like the idea that despite all the heartbreak, I could at the very least gain a new friend out of it. And between you and me, Paul would _hate_ the idea that we’re talking, so it’s a win-win.”

James holds out his phone, the contacts page already up, and watches as Vlad inputs his number.

“This your boy?” Vlad asks before handing his phone back.

It’s the photo of Dale he set as his background a couple of weeks ago. In it, Dale’s leaning on his pool skimmer. James remembers how he had slowly rolled up the sleeves of his blue uniform shirt before shooting him the absolute cheekiest grin he could muster. What choice did he have but to snap a quick photo for posterity?

He has hundreds of different photos of Dale by now. Artful shots of him spread out next to James in bed, head pillowed on his arms, the sheets pooling at his waist. Candid snaps of him with his hair pushed back off his forehead, a beer in one hand and sweat beading at his temples as they dance the night away together in the middle of a club. Selfie after selfie sent to help make the days spent apart easier, some sweet, others decidedly not so. Call James sentimental, but that one of Dale in his uniform the day before he drove him back to Manila holds a special place in his heart.

“Yeah, that’s Dale.”

Vlad whistles, low and appreciative. “Major upgrade, if I do say so myself.”

James feels the tips of his ear burn, proud and embarrassed all at once. “Yeah, I think so, too.”

“The pool boy, huh?” Vlad teases as he finally hands James’ phone back to him.

“Don’t you dare,” James warns good-naturedly and Vlad holds his hands up in surrender. “Bellboy, actually,” James shares with a sniff and Vlad sniggers.

After a few seconds chewing his bottom lip in contemplation, Vlad fishes his own phone out of his back pocket and turns it towards James. “This is Karl.”

It’s a photo of the two of them pressed together on a small couch, a stuffed orca plush squished between them. Karl has his legs draped over Vlad’s lap and Vlad is looking at Karl like he can’t quite believe he’s real.

James chest tightens. They look good together, _happy_ , and that makes it all the more painful.

“Wow, I’d pay to have eyelashes that long,” James comments. “He’s very cute.”

“I know,” Vlad agrees softly. “He’s going to be a big-time script writer one day, just you wait,” he says proudly.

“A director and a writer, huh? A match made in heaven.”

A message pops up on Vlad’s phone and before James can catch a glimpse of it, Vlad’s already pulling it back. He groans at whatever he reads across the screen, his head falling back against the bench. “Okay, now I’ve really got to get going. I was _technically_ on my way to a study session with some classmates when we quite literally bumped into each other and they’re about ready to send out a search party.”

He stands up and swings his rucksack back over one shoulder.

“So what now? Should we shake hands again? I don’t really know the procedure here.”

James decides for both of them by pulling him into a hug.

Vlad stiffens as soon as James gets his arms around him and he immediately begins to panic. For a brief moment he forgot that he doesn’t actually _know_ Vlad, that he isn’t just an old friend he hasn’t seen in a while. “Sorry, I should have asked,” James says, beginning to pull away.

“Nah, it’s okay,” Vlad assures him, bringing up his arms to trap James against his chest. “I’ve gone way further with men whose names I didn’t even know, you're fine,” he adds as he relaxes into the embrace.

James laughs and tightens his hold. “You and me both.”

So there they stand, in the middle of a park on a perfect day, surrounded by love and laughter, holding each other in a way only two people who have gone through the same pain can.

It’s strangely liberating.

“Well, this has been super weird,” Vlad says when they break apart. “But nice,” he concedes, with a soft, genuine smile. “We definitely need to hang out sometime. Properly, I mean. Maybe go to a bar. You could bring your boy; I’d love to meet him.”

It stings that James can’t reply with a teasing _bring yours, too_ and he swallows around the lump in his throat. “I’d like that,” he manages. 

He hopes he gets to meet Karl one day.

But for now, getting to know Vlad a little better and having him in his life in whichever way destiny has planned for them is more than enough.


End file.
